Oklahoma!

Music by Richard Rodgers

Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Based on the play Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs
Original dances by Agnes de Mille
Main Stage

Sept 20 – Oct 30

Part charming love story, part stirring retelling of American history, and many parts beloved songs and stunning dance, Oklahoma! was the first collaboration by the legendary team of Rodgers and Hammerstein, and was a milestone in the development of American musical theater for its fusion of song, story and dance. We are giving this boisterous favorite a new spin: in the 19^th century Oklahoma Territory, there were over 50 all African-American towns; in that same period, one in three American cowboys was black. Chris Coleman’s production will feature an all African-American cast, generating fresh insights into a classic American tale.

The Real Americans

By Dan Hoyle

Ellyn Bye Studio

Sept 6 – Nov 6
Frequently described as an actor/journalist, Dan Hoyle has focused his form of “theater journalism” in this new piece on a months-long road trip to some of the not-on-the-coasts parts of the U.S. The idea, he says, was to get outside the “latte liberal bubble,” find out what people in rural America are thinking and savor some small-town cafe pie. Beneath the masterful humor that Hoyle brings to the piece—as he takes on the personas of the many people he encountered—a rich texture of human connections asserts itself. It surfaces in stories of unemployment and in the frenetic form of a Dominican from New York he meets on the road; it gathers heart-wrenching impact in a Vietnam vet’s reflections on the kids coming back from Iraq and one of his San Francisco friends’ concern for her sister in Alabama. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote that The Real Americans should be seen in and outside every liberal bubble in this country, and that Hoyle “displays a gift for mime and vocal mimicry that recalls solo artists John Leguizamo, Sarah Jones or Lily Tomlin.” 

A Christmas Story

By Phil Grecian

Based on the motion picture written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown & Bob Clark

Main Stage

Nov 20 – Dec 24

 Based on the beloved movie, this classic holiday comedy is a funny and sweet tale of growing up in the 1940s, by an American master storyteller, Jean Shepherd. Ralphie pines for an official Red Ryder Model Air Gun for Christmas, and his machinations to try and make sure Santa delivers, while his father obsesses over his “major award” (an abominable lamp), guarantee that nothing about the family Christmas will be filled with heavenly peace.

The Santaland Diaries

By David Sedaris

Ellyn Bye Studio

Nov 29 – Dec 31

Based on the outlandish, and true, chronicles of David Sedaris’ experience as Crumpet the Elf in Macy’s Santaland display, this hilarious cult classic features comic encounters during the height of the holiday crunch. PCS brings a holiday favorite back to Portland as a special Studio Theater presentation.

  World premiere!

The North Plan

By Jason Wells

Main Stage

Jan 10 – Feb 5

After a ruthless cabal seizes power in Washington, Carlton Berg, a bureaucrat for the State Department, runs off with the new regime’s top secret Enemies List. Unfortunately for Carlton, the chase has come to an end in a police station in the Ozark town of Lodus. With a pair of DHS agents on the way, Carlton’s last chance is in the people around him: An unsympathetic police chief, an ambivalent administrative assistant, and fellow prisoner Tanya Shepke, motor-mouthed recidivist and alcohol enthusiast, who appears to have attention-deficit disorder and thinks Skynyrd should be on the new money. Let the revolution begin.

 World premiere!

Shakespeare’s Amazing Cymbeline

A new adaptation by Chris Coleman

Ellyn Bye Studio

Jan 31 – Apr 8

Based on legends about early Celtic kings, Cymbeline is one of Shakespeare’s most fantastical creations—familiar Shakespearean themes of jealousy and innocence wronged are joined with divine intervention from the gods. A lovely princess, an evil queen, a misguided king and a thoroughly rotten clown inhabit this fairy tale-like story of life, and love, renewed. In his adaptation, Chris Coleman has introduced a new character, a pianist, who serves as a guide through the story and also takes on several characters himself. With this device, the complex tale that is Cymbeline has been opened up and, on several counts, streamlined, while preserving the poetry and language that we all love about Shakespeare.

Red

By John Logan

Main Stage

Feb 21 – Mar 18

An intense bio-drama of the renowned modern artist (and Oregon-raised) Mark Rothko, Red earned critical laurels in its New York run last season. Set in the 1950s, when Rothko was commissioned to create a series of large pieces of art for the new Four Seasons Restaurant, Red tackles big questions about art—what it takes to create it, and where it belongs in our world. But perhaps more importantly, the play invites us to experience a legendary artist through the lens of the assistant brought on to help him with a project Rothko is not so sure he can accept completing.  The New York Times described it as “a portrait of an angry and brilliant mind that asks you to feel the shape and texture of thoughts…as much as any stage work I can think of, Red captures the dynamic relationship between an artist and his creations.” PCS and the Portland Art Museum are working together to celebrate Rothko during the run of this production.

 World premiere!

Anna Karenina

Adapted from Tolstoy by Kevin McKeon

Main Stage

Apr 3 – Apr 29

Tolstoy’s classic story of love and marriage in Imperial Russia comes to our Main Stage in a new adaptation by Kevin McKeon, adaptor of Snow Falling on Cedars. This tragic love story has been called by some the greatest novel ever written—it certainly has one of the most famous first lines: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” When Anna’s husband refuses to release her from their marriage to pursue her love for Count Vronsky, the wheels are set in motion for the ultimate sacrifice. Anna Karenina isn’t concerned with observing the minutiae of social etiquette, like Jane Austen, nor with righting social injustices, like Dickens. It’s about uncontrollable passions, and emotional and sexual betrayal, set against one of the most romantic periods of world history.

Black Pearl Sings!

By Frank Higgins

Ellyn Bye Studio

Apr 24 – June 17

In 1935 Texas, Susannah, an academic and song collector for the Library of Congress, visits a high-security prison where she meets Pearl, an African-American woman imprisoned for murder who longs to leave prison and find her lost daughter. Hoping to record the treasure trove of spirituals and folk songs that only Pearl knows—and make her reputation on the discoveries—Susannah bargains for Pearl’s parole and arranges for several public performances. The two women soon find themselves walking a delicate line between exposure and exploitation. Featuring beautiful a cappella renditions of little-known African-American folk songs, Black Pearl Sings! chronicles a powerful story about being a woman in a man’s world, being black in a white world, and fighting for one’s soul in a world where anyone can be a commodity.

It Ain’t Nothin but the Blues

By Charles Bevel, Lita Gaithers, Randal Myler, Ron Taylor, and Dan Wheetman

Main Stage

May 22 – June 24

From African chants and Delta spirituals to the urban electricity of a Chicago nightclub, from dusty backroads bluegrass to the twang of a country juke joint, It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues is a stirring retrospective of blues classics that summons the soul of American music. Over two dozen musical numbers are included, among them “I’m Your Hoochie-Coochie Man,” “Goodnight, Irene,” “Fever,” “Walkin’ After Midnight,” “The Thrill Is Gone” and “Let the Good Times Roll.” It Ain’t Nothin’ but the Blues was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Musical, and has played to rave reviews all over the country. Through the music that is cherished as an original American art form, the standout group of musicians and singers on stage share a moving American story of troubles and triumph.

 Our intent over the next few years is to ensure the cultural diversity that exist in Portland and the surrounding is shared with all our visitors to the State of Oregon. Throughout the year AHWT- Portland City Tour will continue to expand to include Asia, Japanese, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish more information about cultural groups and their important in the State of Oregon.

Featured Event:

A significant number of African Americans migrated to Portland during World War II due to the availability of jobs in the shipyards.  Housing was scarce for both African Americans and Anglos.  After the war ended, approximately 10,000 of the 20,000-25,000 African Americans who migrated during the war remained in Portland.  The majority of these families lived in the area known as Vanport—a temporary settlement for war workers and their families.  The housing there was not meant to be permanent but it became so for many African American families.  In 1948 the Columbia River flooded and the dike protecting Vanport broke.  Nearly 17,000 people were left homeless as a result of the flood, and those left homeless were disproportionately African American. 

After the flood many African Americans moved to the area that is now known as the Rose Quarter.  This area was located between the downtown and the Eastside both of which were in the process of being developed.  In November 1956 the decision was made to build a sports coliseum in the Rose Quarter.  The city planning commission claimed that housing in the area was substandard. This was just one of several projects that forced many African Americans in the area to move once again

The African American community protested the expansion of Emanuel because they were frustrated at continually being forced to move to make way for development.  Successive postwar construction projects in the Albina neighborhood—the Memorial Coliseum in the 1950s, Interstate 5 in the 1960s, and the Emanuel Hospital expansion in the 1970s—resulted in a steady migration northward.

Written by Tania Hyatt-Evenson, Sarah Griffith, © Oregon Historical Society, 2002.

Take the free shuttle December 17 through January 1. The shuttle pick-up location, which will be marked with a sign, will be at PSU’s parking garage #3 (entrance on SW 12th Avenue or SW 13th just south of SW Market). Click here for a map to the garage.
Parking in PSU’s parking structure is free to Pittock Mansion visitors for the first three hours. When you arrive, go to one of the parking machines in parking structure #3, and you will see three choices: 1. Daily Parking, 2. Hourly Parking, or 3. Pittock Shuttle. Select the 3 for Pittock Shuttle, and then enter coupon code 62782 in the keypad to obtain your free parking permit.

- Shuttle service will be provided by a 12-passenger van, which will have a window sign identifying it as the shuttle to Pittock Mansion.

- The shuttle vans are non-accessible (i.e. unable to load wheelchairs on and off automatically). However, TriMet offers some door-to-door neighborhood shuttle service through their Ride Connection program.  Find out more at http://www.trimet.org/access/index.htm.
- Shuttle vans may have extra cargo space for strollers, but do not have children’s seats for transportation.

- Return trips will depart the Mansion on the half hour with the last departure leaving the Mansion at 4:30 p.m.

This eco-friendly and budget-friendly option is being offered for the fourth year, thanks to a partnership with America’s Hub World Tours. For details, contact Pittock Mansion. Please call ahead to confirm shuttle service during inclement weather.

Every year, volunteer decorators transform the Mansion’s historic hallways and rooms into a holiday wonderland. Celebrate the season with Christmas Around the World, on display November 21 – January 2. Take the free shuttle December 17 – January 1!

Discover Portland’s Living Legacy.
Pittock Mansion Presents A Northwest Christmas: The Natural Beauty and Bounty of Oregon.
100 years old. 1000 feet up. 23 festively decorated rooms.
November 22 – January 2. Take the free shuttle!
(Open New Year’s Day. Closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.)

Pick-up AT the Mansion is on the HALF HOUR starting at 11:30 pm, with the last pick-up at 4:30 pm
 
Upon special request, we can pick up and drop off at the following hotels FOR A $10 ROUND-TRIP CHARGE PER GUEST

Dates: December 18, 2010 through January 2, 2011

Departure Time: 11:00am until 4::30pm

Days of Week: daily (except Christmas day)
Cost: Free

Click here to view the Terms

        Portland named one of the “Best Beer Cities for Travelers to Visit”

              – The Huffington Post (August 2010)

·        Portland’s Waterfront Loop named one of “America’s Coolest Riverwalks”

              – Travel & Leisure (August 2010)

·        Portland named one of the “US & Canada’s Best Places to Eat”

              – Food & Wine (August 2010)

·        Portland is “best tax city for travelers” – USA TODAY (August 2010)

·        No. 1 “Top 3 Green Destinations” – Corporate Meetings & Incentives (July 2010)

·        No. 1 “Americas Best Cities for Summer Travel” – Travel & Leisure (June 2010)

If you would like to be involved and be visible in this dynamic $8M visitor industry, consider being a partner with Travel Portland.  This industry supports you and the community.

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